River City Media Response to Defamatory and False Articles

JACKSON, Wyo., March 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- River City Media, LLC issues this press release to address what it believes are the numerous false and defamatory statements published by Chris Vickery, Mackeeper.com, Steve Ragan and CXO Media, Inc. (which operates csoonline.com) regarding River City's business practices.  These accusations were based upon information Chris Vickery et al they admittedly obtained without receiving any consent or permission from of River City Media.  "Contrary to the assertions in the libelous publications Vickery, Mackeeper, Steve Ragan and CXO Media did not stumble upon River City's confidential and proprietary information through an unprotected rsync backup," said Alvin Slocombe, COO at River City Media.  "River City's backups were not stored on an open web server as falsely reported.  Much of the information that was published could only be obtained by accessing third party resources with stolen logins and passwords.  River City was the victim of a maliciously orchestrated serious data breach and hack."

By their own admission, the publishers of the so-called articles never spoke with anyone at River City before they published their hit pieces.  Had they done so, rather than rush to publish, they would have realized that a number of the statements in their articles were false and easily disprovable.  For example, Vickery represented that River City sent a billion emails per day using "illegal hacking techniques," which he placed in conjunction with a stolen document entitled "Project X1 (IPv4/IPv6)."  However, the document that Vickery posted was submitted by a third party who never worked for or was affiliated with River City; the third party submitted the document in connection with an application to work for River City.  In fact, River City has never used the mailing technique detailed in the "Project X1" document, nor mailed a billion emails in a day. 

Vickery also represented that River City used a mailing technique, which he described as "a type of Slowloris attack," based on a chat log between River City and Sean McKeown.  However, River City has never used the mailing technique described in Vickery's defamatory publication, nor did it ever use any of the "scripts or techniques" provided by Mr. McKeown.  The technique described in the chat log, and the scripts provided by Mr. McKeown, were never used by River City because (1) they were inconsistent with River City's emailing practices, and (2) could not even be carried out given the technical limitations on River City's email delivery platform.  Indeed, River City distributed emails on behalf of well-known and reputable companies, including MetLife, LifeLock, Liberty Mutual, Match.com, DirectTV, and Lyft, to name a few.  Had River City engaged in "unlawful hacking techniques" as claimed in the defamatory publications, it would not have been permitted to transmit commercial email messages on behalf of such well-recognized brands, which it has done for years.  In sum, the direct and implicit representations in the false articles that River City engaged in criminal activity, illegal IP hijacking or unlawful hacking are false.

As for Ragan's attempt to smear River City by suggesting it did something wrong by obtaining consumer's email addresses from third parties, he apparently missed the fact that even his employer, csoonline.com, engages in the very same practice.  In his attempt to further tarnish River City, Ragan quoted Mike Anderson of Spamhaus to establish that River City obtained consumer email addresses from partners who "tricked" consumers into giving them their email addresses; the partners would then share that data with River City for delivering email marketing.  Yet, according to csoonline.com's Privacy Policy, consumers who submit their email addresses to csoonline.com "agree to receive email from outside firms, the Publisher and its sister IDG companies, and the IDG Network."   Had Ragan focused on the truth, and not simply tarnishing River City, he might have realized that not every email address that is obtained by a web site and then shared with a third party is acquired by "tricking" the consumer, and that data licensing is lawful and a common business practice by website operators… including his own employer.   

"River City has operated as an email marketing affiliate since 2003 and as a display and social affiliate since 2015.  It has worked with many upstanding digital marketing agencies, well known-brands, service providers and hosting companies.  And it has always sought to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, including the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.  However, due to the acts of these multiple parties and individuals, the company has suffered a number of catastrophic and damaging events, which have not only impacted the company, but also its loyal employees and partners," said Matt Ferris of River City Media.

Ferris continues, "The overwhelming amount of positive support we have received from our close business partners and friends is incredibly touching.  River City Media has the utmost gratitude for the partners whom have stuck by us during this incredibly difficult time.  We ask that the privacy of our employees, their families, their personal LLCs and our marketing partners please be respected at this time.  We look forward to putting this devastation to rest so that we all may move forward with our lives."

Any questions related to this press release may be directed to Damian Moos at Kang Spanos & Moos LLP, who may be reached at (949) 501-4864.

SOURCE River City Media

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